Doug Boone, a Charlotte developer and one of only four Life Members on REBIC’s Board of Governors, passed away last Thursday at the age of 66. Considered one of the leading voices of the New Urbanist movement, Doug was best known for his development of the New Neighborhood in Old Davidson, a groundbreaking mixed-use project constructed around Davidson’s landmark St. Alban’s Episcopal Church.

A longtime executive with the John Crosland Co., Doug became active in REBIC in the mid 1980s, and was instrumental in molding it into the leading real estate public policy voice of the Charlotte region. For his contributions, he was named a Life Member of REBIC’s Board, along with John Crosland, Jr., Allen Tate, Jr., and former executive director Mark Cramer.

Born Sept. 19, 1945 in Detroit, Mich., Doug attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting, and law. He spent 22 years (1974-1995) at Crosland, eventually rising to the position of president of Crosland Land Co. During his time with the company, he was involved in acquisition and development of about 60 of Charlotte’s best-known neighborhoods.

He served as president of the Charlotte Home Builders Association in 1985 and also worked on various government committees related to all aspects of the home building industry, the environment and utility issues.

In 1996, he formed Boone Communities, and in the next 12 years, developed three neighborhoods in the Charlotte area. Boone Communities also advised large land owners on land use and provided expert witness and consulting to land owner attorneys in road right-of-way condemnation cases. Doug was always willing to serve his community, and offered to serve on the Board of Equalization and Review after the last countywide reevaluation, though he still recovering from heart surgery at that time.